Match report

Swansea 2 Cambridge 0

If you believed the Cambridge fans in the build up to this match, we were in for our very own St Valentine's Day massacre, but that is about as far from the truth as could be. Possibly a slightly disappointing 4,903 crowd (given the free entry for ladies) came to see if the Swans could put the mid week set back behind them very quickly and continue the good form seen recently.

A couple of changes in the team, some forced, some not, saw the Swans line up as follows:

I don't think that many in the crowd realised how frozen the pitch was along the Centre Stand side of the ground, but it did explain away some of the poor control shown by all players in that area.

Williams had a couple of chances to put in some good crosses which went astray, and generally the first half passed by without too much incident, and without the Swans looking threatening despite being a good match for the opposition.

Watkin was working hard in his chasing game, but he will have to go some to put any fear into a defence as regards creating chances in front of goal.

There were a couple of half chances which fell to the Swans strikers in the first period, but both Watkin and Williams failed to capitalise on the opportunities. At this stage Williams was showing little appetite to get stuck into the game despite being involved in a lot of the play.

Back in midfield, Britton played in the way that we have quickly become accustom to and chased and jinked his way throughout. He has terrific stamina, and a lesser player would give up all to often in situations in which he finds himself.

Martinez started to settle in the sweeper's role as the half progressed, in a game that really was being dominated by some very suspect decisions by the referee and his assistant running in front of the north bank. We were certainly coming off second best as far as offside and unfair tackles were concerned.

Half time arrived with the anticipation of watching the Ice Babes reducing the queues at the burger stand.

As the men settled down, and Cyril the Swan realised that half time penalty shoot outs could be a lot more fun than he had previously thought, the second half began, and immediately, we seemed to take more control of the game. With Williams now operating on the thawed section of the pitch, he looked more at home, and we began to build up a few more constructive moves.

Martinez was clearly in control of the mid field now, to the point that he did on occasions tackle his own players to ensure the move continued as he had planned.

The defence looked more solid in the second half, and the sometimes sloppy clearances were no longer being seen. Tate and Smith were sound in the centre, and Howard on the left obviously handles the frozen conditions well as he was having his best game for a long time.

Evans on the right was involved a lot too, and it was sad to see him carried off with what looked like a very serious leg injury about 10 minutes into the 2nd half. The player was booked, but it could have warranted more severe punishment.

O'Leary replaced Evans and then within 5 minutes, an excellent first time ball to Williams from Howard, saw Williams put in an excellent cross which headed on delicately by Watkin for Richards to score and put the Swans one up.

Confidence was now with the team, and we did not sit back as we have in some games and allow the opposition to come at us. The dubious decisions from the referee and linesmen continued, and there were a series of bookings which most would consider unnecessary.

Ten minutes from normal time, we put the game beyond Cambridge, when Martinez – our man of the match - delivered a superb cross for Richards to flick the ball over the advancing keeper to grab his second of the match, and a much need and very welcome three points. In the dying stages, Thomas replaced the hard working Watkin, and Britton, who again had been outstanding throughout, came very close to snatching a third.

A very competent performance against an in form team, and with 13 points from our last 6 games, no fan could have asked for more from the players. Roger only had to make one good save throughout the game, and he was only called on a couple of times to take the ball in the air.

Our 19th position may be a little distorted by games in hand, but we'd take the points at the moment and force the other strugglers to have to win to make up ground.

Player comments to follow.

• Freestone 7 - Assured and distribution much better than of late.

• Evans 6 - Seems destined to miss the end of season run in again. 
• Smith 7 - Solid and led defence well. Certainly didn't deserve his booking. 
• Tate 7 - One or two minor errors, but overall good game.
• Howard 8 - Confident and assured display. Looked like a different player than we've become used to.

• Britton 9 - Does things we couldn't think of, let alone do. Worth the admission cost to watch this lad alone.  
• Mumford 8 - Looked much more at ease in this midfield.
• Martinez 9 (MoM) - Controlled the 2nd half and showed his quality in setting up second goal.

• Williams 7 - Went from terrible to brilliant at times.
• Watkin 7 - Poor in front of goal but gave 110% today.
• Richards 8 - Two goals will hopefully restore his confidence.

• O'Leary 6 - Did well in right back berth and may be forced into this position if he is to recapture a starting place.
• Thomas - Not on long enough.